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About this project

More concerned with the impact of a single image, rather than a body of work, If You Leave is a distinctive collection of images that tell their own unique story. These are snapshots of a journey made by wanderers who study the mysterious yet peaceful feeling of desolation and loneliness...

Curated by photographer Laurence Von Thomas since 2009, the project has given a voice to young photographers from around the world and provided many of them with the exposure needed to help launch their professional careers. If You Leave has consequently become one of the most followed and referenced online photography galleries, showcasing the work of more than 700 contemporary photographers from 44 countries (and 23 states) to a following of 430,000 on Tumblr.

...but as is the case with many organic projects, one of the biggest challenges is scalability. We believe we've come up with an exiting idea, but we need your help to make it happen!

by Robert Moses Joyce

by Ren Hang

IYL Showcase...

Taking If You Leave one step further, the IYL Showcase will enable an international submission-based photography competition/exhibition to take place, keeping in line with the initial aesthetic and aim to offer a platform for up and coming photographers to exhibit their work.

Alongside the Showcase, IYL in printed form will change from the books into a bi-annual magazine. The first issue will be launched on the day the exhibition opens. It doubles as an exhibition catalogue with both issues including 10 prints from the exhibition.

by Reuben Wu

The Competition...

The First Selection: We make an initial selection of images based on weekly open calls through Flickr and Facebook starting on June 1st and running until the submission closes on July 8th. 2 images/day will then be featured on the IYL Showcase blog.

The Second Selection: Out of this selection the Showcase Jury makes their top 3 choices. These will then be merged into the final 20 images and featured 2/day on the original If You Leave blog, starting 10 days before the exhibition opening.

The Winners: Out of those 20 images 3 prizes will be drawn: one image is selected by a panel consisting of industry professionals, a second image is chosen by the Showcase Jury and a third image is chosen through public voting.

The Prizes: A different prize for each winner ranging from: sponsored prize money, a full feature in the new IYL publication, photography goods (camera, film, studio, other deals) and an artist residency.

How to apply...

The focus of the Showcase is on a single image, as opposed to a series or a body of work, so please select your most powerful individual images. For more information: iylshowcase.tumblr.com/tagged/about.

The deadline for entries is July 8th 2014, and entry is limited to 10 images per photographer.

The Exhibition...

One of the challenges we face is rendering an online concept into a physical presentation. In looking for a more dynamic display than a conventional exhibition in a gallery space, we’re showcasing 20 images in fitting locations around a specific area in London (Shoreditch/Dalson/Hackney) such as shop windows, coffee shops, galleries and venues as well as a ‘Master Exhibition’ in central London.

The exhibition will be set up as a hybrid between a virtual and physical presentation:

Physical Exhibition: We want to showcase the images in different locations around the chosen area of London with suspended prints mounted on wooden panels.

Virtual Exhibition: We are developing a mobile application that allows you to access the exhibition with information on the content and the artists as well as the locations of the physical exhibition.

The Magazine...

To accompany the Showcase we’re excited to announce IYL Magazine, a new biannual photography magazine – with features, interviews, reviews, short stories and photography commissions.

Each issue brings 90 pages of colour printed recycled paper, bound with a metal stitch saddle, in a protective slipcase along with 10 individual loose-leaf photographic colour prints of the IYL showcase winning images, so together both issues become the complete catalogue for the 2014 showcase.

IYL Magazine // Mock-Up

Why are we doing this?

The large following of IYL on Tumblr signifies that there is an abundance of contemporary photography readily accessible, and in need of both an online and physical space to showcase it.
Photography exhibitions typically have submission fees, this Showcase will be free to submit and accordingly gives the chance for anyone to apply.

With over 5000 books sold, IYL has established that there is a desire for a tangible representation. And although the 4th volume was the final in a series to be published, the need for IYL to expand in a new direction felt like the natural next step.

The Showcase offers a career-boosting opportunity for emerging photographers by giving them the chance to exhibit their work in an international art hub, and in doing so, both connect them to a worldwide photographic community and expose them to a global audience.

Taking it further…

In the first year the focus is on setting the exhibition up in London with a strong campaign of global exposure, establishing the identity of the Showcase. Throughout 2014/15 the Showcase will go on the road visiting cities around the world. In addition, we are liaising with music and film festivals with the aim of having pop-up exhibitions in conjunction with the current or any future editions.

A successful campaign:

If we reach our goal of £10,000 the money will go towards...

Organising the exhibition and exhibition launch in London

Printing and mounting of the winning images

Developing the IYL Showcase app

Printing of the first issue of the IYL Magazine

Making sure our interns get paid

Build a foundation for the future: we’d like to publish two print issues each year, and reaching our goal will help set us up to do that

And also thanks to everyone for their contributions to make the IYL showcase possible and to all of you for having supported If You Leave throughout the past 4 years!

Risks and challenges

Both the exhibition and the magazine carry their own risks. This is the first exhibition of its kind, so we can’t know exactly how everything will turn out. That comes with the territory. But we have planned for every eventuality we can think of and we all have a lot of experience and passion to feed off.

Rewards

Pledge £1 or more

Pledge £5 or more

An 'IYL Showcase' or original 'If You Leave' tote bag. (Please specify upon payment).

Estimated delivery:Nov 2014

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge £10 or more

32 backers
Limited (468 left of 500)

An A2 newspaper-print style poster of one of the 20 winning showcase images (These are limited edition, with only 25 posters for per image).

Estimated delivery:Nov 2014

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge £15 or more

48 backers

You'll receive issue 1 of the IYL magazine + IYL Showcase tote bag.

Estimated delivery:Nov 2014

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge £25 or more

21 backers
Limited (479 left of 500)

A numbered 1st issue of the IYL magazine + your name in the credits + IYL Showcase tote bag.

Estimated delivery:Nov 2014

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge £30 or more

11 backers

You'll receive both issue 1 & 2** of the bi-annual IYL magazine + IYL Showcase tote bag. (** The 2nd issue will only be released in April 2015)

Estimated delivery:Nov 2014

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge £50 or more

5 backers
Limited (95 left of 100)

Both issue 1 & 2** of the IYL magazine, limited to 100 and numbered as a matching pair + your name in the credits + IYL Showcase tote bag. (** The 2nd issue will only be released in April 2015)

Estimated delivery:Nov 2014

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge £75 or more

10 backers
Limited (40 left of 50)

Both issue 1 & 2** of the IYL magazine, limited to 50 and numbered as a matching pair + your name in the credits + 1 high quality 12"x16" print selected by you out of the 20 winning showcase images + IYL Showcase tote bag. (** The 2nd issue will only be released in April 2015)

Estimated delivery:Nov 2014

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge £100 or more

6 backers
Limited (44 left of 50)

Both issue 1 & 2** of the IYL magazine, limited to 50 and numbered as a matching pair + your name in the credits + 2 high quality 12"x16" prints selected by you out of the 20 winning showcase images + IYL Showcase tote bag. (** The 2nd issue will only be released in April 2015)

Estimated delivery:Nov 2014

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge £500 or more

1 backer
Limited (9 left of 10)

You'll receive 10 limited and numbered high quality 20x30" photographic prints, selected by you from the 20 winning images of the IYL Showcase.

Estimated delivery:Nov 2014

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge £1,000 or more

3 backers
Limited (7 left of 10)

You'll receive 20 limited and numbered high quality 20x30" photographic prints. This makes you the owner of the complete 2014 IYL Showcase.

Estimated delivery:Nov 2014

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge £5,000

0 backers

You will be flown out to the launch of the exhibition and have dinner with the IYL team and the finalists that are able to make it, plus stay at a boutique hotel in trendy East London for the night.

You will also receive both issue 1 & 2** of the IYL magazine, limited to 50 and numbered as a matching pair + your name in the credits + 1 high quality signed & framed print selected out of the 20 winning showcase images + IYL Showcase tote bag. (** The 2nd issue will only be released in April 2015)

Estimated delivery:Oct 2014

Ships anywhere in the world

Funding period

Jun 1, 2014 - Jul 1, 2014
(30 days)

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